Edgar



(No Model.

E. C. WORTHEN.

GEARING FOR CHANGING SPEED. No. 278,070. Patented May 22,1883.

22501 Mizieu,

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR c. WORTHEN, oF CHARLOTTE, WILLIAM o. MORGAN,

NORTH CAROLINA. ASSIGNOR TO OF SAME PLAGE.

GEARING FORCHANGING S'PEED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,070, dated May 22, 1883.

Application filed April 16, 1883. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

' the accompanying drawings,

Be it known that I, EDGAR O. WORTHEN, of Charlotte, county of lilecklenburg'state of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Speed, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to making part of this specification. v

My invention relates to anovel arrangement of gearing, whereby the speed of the same and of the shaftin g actuated thereby may be easily and quickly regulated or changed to suit the class of work which it is desired to perform or the machine to which said improved arrangement of gearing is attached, and it may be applied to hay, cotton, or rag presses, lathes, or almost any machine where it is desired to change the speed of rotation of the drivingshaft.

It consists in the employment of a drivingwheel'provided with a pinion permanently at tached to it, mounted loosely on its shaft, and engaging with a gear-wheel mounted loosely on a secondary shaft, said shafts being provided with intermeshing gear-wheels keyed to them, in combination with clutch-es, whereby said drive-wheel is adapted to actuate its shaft directly or to be indirectly connected therewith for drivingit through its pinion and the intermeshing gears on the driving and secondary shafts; also, in a novel arrangement of clutches on the driving and secondary shafts, and .of

' the pivoted lever actuating said clutches, as

hereinafter described- The accompanying drawing is a plan view, showing the arrangement of the gearing and the pivoted lever and clutches.

A represents the main driving-shaft of the machine, to which my improvement is and B is a secondary shaft arranged tating in line vparallel therewith.

f O is a driving-pulley mounted loosely on the shaftA, for a purpose herein after set forth. To this pulleyis rigidly attached a spur-pinion, 1), also loose on the shaft, and provided with a clutch-face, D, adapted to receive a correspondin g clutch, I, for engaging said pulley and pinion with the shaft A. On the opposite side ofpulley Ofrom that to which the spur-pinion D and roapplied,

'with. Gearing for Changing.

I l l is secured, but detached from it,another gearwheel, G, is provided, keyed to the shaft A in any suitable manner, and always rotating there- The wheel G engages with another wheel, F, preferably of smaller diameter, on

the secondary shaft B, as shown, said wheel F being also keyed to its shaft, adapting it to rotate therewith. and engaging with the pinion D, is a fourth gear-wheel, E, mounted loosely on its shaft, and provided with a clutch-face, E, adapted to receive a clutch, H, for engaging it with shaft 13, asshown.

H and I are clutches of the ordinary form and construction, being feathered to the shafts on which they are mounted and rotating therewith, adapting them to slide upon said shafts, and by their engagement with the clutch-faces E and D spectively, into action. As one only of said clutches is intended to be employed at one time, it is thought best to so arrange them in connection with their rocking lever that when either one of them isengaged with its correspondingwheel the other will be thrown entirely out of engagement. For this purpose I find that the use of a common lever, K, for actuating both clutches, pivoted intermediatel y of said clutches, and provided with forks or arms fitting in grooves h and t', is very convenient and effective, for by rocking lever K upon its pivot L the same movement that causes the engagement of one clutch with its gear removes the other of said clutches from engagement with its gear.

Having explained the use of lever K and its clutches, I now proceed to show the operation ofthe gear-wheels, whereby the change of speed of rotation of the shaft A is obtained.

It will be seen that by vibrating lever K outward, and thereby throwing clutch I into action, the driving-pulley U and its attached pinion will engage the main driving-shaft A, and the latter will be rotated with a speed equal to the speed of rotation of the driving-pulley. The wheel E engaging with the pinion D, in that case being idle, will produce no result, but merely revolve around the shaftB as it is aetuated by the pinion D. By rocking lever K in the other direction, or toward the wheel E, 100

On the secondary shaft B,-

2 gastric and thus throwing clutch E into action, wheel E will engage the secondary shaft B, and, being in engagement with the pinion D, will in turn cause the rotation of shaft B. As the wheel F is keyed to the secondary shaft B, the revolution of said shaft will effect the revolution of wheel F, and the latter being in em gagement with wheel Gr, before referred to as keyed to shaft A, the shaft A will be driven through such engagement, and as the result of the arrangement of the gearing, driving from small to large wheels, at materially-slower revolution of shaft A will be produced.

It is apparent that the arrangement of the gearing maybe varied to suit the requirements of the machine to which it is desired to apply it as, for instance, instead of gearing down from high to low speed, as described and illus trated, it may be desirable to gear up from low to high speed, which may be done by reversing the order and arrangement of the gearwheels. Therefore I do not limit myself to the particular a'rangement shown and described. Friction wheels or gears may be substituted for those shown and described, and also friction or other suitable forms of clutches may be employed in lieu of the clutches shown. Motion may be im 'iarted to pulley G from any suitable motor.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1r Parallel shafts with intermcshiug gears fast thereon and intermeshing gears loose thereon, of unequal diameters, in combination with adjustable clutches feathered to and sliding upon said shafts, foriengaging one or the other of the loose gears with its shaft for changing the speed of the driving-shaft, substantially as described.

2. The shaft A, having the gear-wheel G fast upon it, in combination with the pulley U, loose on said shaft A, and having the pinion D rigidly connected with it, and the geai wheels E and F on a secondary shaft, 1-3, arranged and operating substantially as described. V

3. The shaft A, having the gear-wheel G fast upon it, the driving-wheel having the pinion D rigidly connected with it, loose on said shaft A, and the gear-wheels E and F on a secondary shaft, B,in combination with the clutches H and I, for throwing the wheels E and D into engagement with their respective shafts, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The gears E and D, mounted loosely on their shafts, in combination with clutches feathered to and sliding upon said shafts, and the shipping-lever pivoted at a pointintermediate of said clutches, and adapted to operate them simultaneously, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of April, A. D. 1883.

EDGAR (J. \VOBTHEN.

\Vitnesses:

V; O. BADHAM, A. G. BRENIZER. 

